The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved the sale of Ellis Park to Churchill Downs Inc., a transaction that will give the company four tracks on the Kentucky circuit and the operating permits for two additional casinos.

Churchill Downs Inc. has reached an agreement to buy Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., for $79 million, the company announced late on Thursday, an acquisition that will further consolidate ownership of Kentucky racetracks and casinos under the Churchill umbrella.

The California Horse Racing Board at a meeting on Thursday adopted a 2023 racing calendar for Southern California similar to the one in place this year.

The 2023 Southern California season will consist of race meetings at Santa Anita from this Dec. 26 to June 18, and Sept. 29 to Nov. 5; meetings at Los Alamitos from June 23 to July 9, Sept. 15-24, and Dec. 8-17; and meetings at Del Mar from July 21 to Sept. 10 and Nov. 10 to Dec. 3.

Networking for women currently working in or hoping to break into the racing industry, and empowerment to make changes on a personal or grassroots level, will be two of the themes for the inaugural Horse Racing Women’s Summit, set for Sept. 28-30 at Santa Anita.

The New York Racing Association has purchased an equity stake in the international simulcast marketing company owned by 1/ST, the two companies announced on Monday.

The acquisition will formalize a relationship between the two companies for the next 10 years. NYRA and 1/ST have cooperated on international simulcast marketing efforts in the past, but NYRA will begin sharing in the returns from the efforts as an equity partner beginning in 2023, running through the end of 2032.

Barbara Livingston, the chief photographer for Daily Racing Form, and Mike Welsch, the longtime DRF racing correspondent and clocker, have each been selected to receive a major career award from the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters this year, the organization announced on Thursday.

Churchill Downs Inc. has reached an agreement with FanDuel, the parent company of TVG and a major sports-betting operator, to provide bet-processing services for the company’s parimutuel wagering business and give the company exclusive broadcast rights to its stable of tracks beginning next year, according to an announcement from the two companies.

Handle on U.S. Thoroughbred races held in August of this year declined moderately compared to the same month last year, when there was an additional weekend date during August, according to figures distributed by Equibase on Monday.

Total handle dropped 0.86 percent, but average handle per race increased 3.2 percent, from $340,466 to $351,434, due to a 4.0 percent decline in races held during the month. Some of that decline was related to the one additional weekend date in August of last year.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- All-sources handle on races conducted at New York Racing Association tracks through the first eight months of the year is $1.75 billion, up 2.1 percent over the 2021 figure of $1.71 billion, according to statistics provided Thursday by the New York Racing Association.

Through Wednesday, NYRA has conducted 1,265 races over 134 racing days, compared to 1,302 races run over 140 dates through the same period in 2021. Average daily handle thus far in 2022, is $13,065,724, compared to $12,246,561 in 2021.

FanDuel Group will rebrand TVG, its primary horse racing network, as FanDuel TV while adding sports-betting shows to the network’s lineup, the company said Thursday.

Under the rebranding, which will take place in September, live horse racing coverage on the network is not expected to be immediately affected. TVG currently devotes most of its afternoon and evening hours to horse-racing coverage, and it operates one of the largest account-wagering companies in the U.S. Its exclusive racing partners include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park, Del Mar, and Keeneland.